Thanks for the suggestions! My squashes weren't quite as tan as the ones in the store, there were no tendrils near by, the stems were still green and quite attached and they didn't sound thumpy so I figured they weren't ready. Well, a few days later, we got scorching triple digit heat for a week or so, then we got heavy thunderstorms for a while, followed by more scorching heat. When I left for work in the morning, the squash still looked fine but when I came home in the afternoon, some of them had started splitting / cracking. It was almost as if they had steamed and popped! They were still attached pretty strongly to the vine but I knew they'd just rot if I let them be so I picked the cracked ones and made butternut squash soup for my toddler (added a potato, carrot, onion, garlic, and chicken stock...that's all) and she LOVED it! I just put everything in the crock pot and didn't even bother pureeing it but it turned out great! I gave away 3 and still have about 7 outside...all from 1 plant!

I heard someone suggest tieing in hanging squashes, pumpkins ect with old pantyhose. I tried it a few years ago, it worked but looked ugly and I had to re-tye them as they continued getting bigger, I'd given to much hose and they were sagging pretty low.

Maybe if I'd used a better brand of pantyhose???

Have fun..

Oh this recipe might be of interest too; not light and flaky - but low calorie and flavourful.

The bottom of the squash, the part that was on the ground, is cream-colored. (White color means it's still ripening) The pigtail-like tendrils closest to the squash and the stem of the squash have dried up and turned brown. The squash makes a thumpy sound when slapped.

It's my first year planting butternut squash and I honestly have never bought one from a store so I don't know what a ripe one looks like. It seems a little early (time-wise) to pick but they are a decent size and a light tan color already. Some are still green and clearly not ready to pick but a bunch of them look like they may be ready or getting close. How do I know when they're ready? They do have a few faint short thin green lines up by the stem. The reason why I'm concerned is that the leaves close to these more mature looking squash are dying and it's 100+ degrees here everyday and I feel like they might literally be roasted already!

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